About Me

When not nosing, tasting, drinking and reading about malt whisky, I own one of Israel's premiere boutique coaching practices, specializing in small businesses and executive teams.
Trained in the law, I was an international law attorney and took part in Israel's peace negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as representing my country at the UN for parts of the negotiations on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Later I was appointed to the military bench.
My favorite thing, other than whisky, is teaching.
You can contact me through the social media buttons above or by email: michael(at)maltandoak.com, replacing the (at) with an @.

Statement of Integrity and Guidelines

Malt and Oak is an independent whisky blog, offering my own views, opinions and news from the world of malt whisky.
These are my guidelines:

1. All whisky reviews published are of whiskies I have personally tasted and noted. Guest bloggers only write about their own personal tastings.

2. With the exception of official whisky samples, I accept no consideration whatsoever from any distillery, bottler, distributor, drink company or store for my opinions.

3. I maintain strict impartiality and objectivity in tasting all whiskies, not least when tasting official samples. Any review of official whisky samples sent to me will be so noted in the post.

4. I will accept invitations to tastings, events and official visits, and full disclosure will be made on any tasting notes and articles resulting from these events or visits.

5. Any sample received over 30 ml in volume is shared with fellow whisky bloggers. In any event, no sample larger than 100 ml will be accepted.

6. No advertisements promoting specific brands will be accepted.

7. I will answer any inquiry by my readers as quickly and as fully as possible.

8. Should I give a link purchase the reviewed whisky, it will be given free of any commercial interest. The link given will always point to cheapest selling price I found on the web. No commission is paid, nor any other consideration given, for such link.

9. As of July 2017, I serve as Douglas Laing’s Israel brand ambassasdor. As such, I will obviously not be posting reviews of Douglas Laing products.

The Oldest and Rarest Oban Ever – 32 Year Old Vintage 1969

A few months ago, I got to taste the second oldest Oban ever bottled. It was a 21 year old bottled at cask strength as part of the 2013 Diageo special releases. I absolutely loved it, and you can find the review here. I was hoping to get this dram to taste for my birthday, as this bottle and I share a vintage, but that didn’t work out, and I got it in time for a holiday season/belated birthday ultra premium tasting of samples which included a bunch of 30 ml samples of the 1969 Oban, 1981 Karuizawa, 25 year old OB Brora, a rare 1975 Ayrshire/Ladyburn from Signatory, 1954 Glen Grant, 1977 Glenisla, 1973 Teaninich Rare Malts Selection and my first ever North Port/Brechin. I’ll report on some of the more interesting drams in the days leading up to 2016.

Photo Credit: Dorcas Sinclair via Wikimedia Commons

As I mentioned in the post on the 21 year old, only three Obans have ever been bottled in the Special Releases range: This 32 year old 1969 released in 2002, a 20 year old released the next year, followed a full decade later by the 21 year old released in 2013. They were all released at cask strength, unchill filtered. Now only the quest for the rather elusive 20 year old remains, as yet, incomplete.

Nose: Salty with a spicy note of honey. Some wood spices (cinnamon and nutmeg) that get stronger as time goes on. Sugar dough appears after a while. Water highlights the sweeter notes with some sweet sherry and some dark berries. The salt and sherry combination here really works.

Palate: Surprisingly gentle, with a dryness and a strong spiciness. There’s a certain freshness to it even after 32 years in cask with a faint sour note. Water brings the salt to the palate too.

Linger: Salty and peppery, with the honey and dried fruit sweetness lingering underneath. Oaky and dry, with a light sweetness and faint bitterness under it. This dram has a very long and drying effect.

Conclusion

This dram was matured, at least partially, in sherry casks, but isn’t heavily sherried. It is pretty complex, and definitely is a dram that needs time. Classically a western Highlander, it has a fascinating combination of saltiness and sweetness with just enough spice to really make it very memorable.